With Time
by Holly Turner
Summary: set during the Prisoner of Azkaban. Remus deals with his feelings for his lover Sirius Black with the help of his niece, Holly.


Author's Notes - set during the Prisoner of Azkaban. Remus deals with his feelings for his lover Sirius Black with the help of his niece, Holly.  
  
Holly is an original character. Main pairing; Remus Lupin/Sirius Black. Other pairing; Oliver Wood/Holly Lupin. No, I haven't 'forgotten' about the werewolf. I just haven't figured out how to write werewolf!remus yet.  
  
----------  
  
Remus sighed and closed his copy of The Daily Prophet. There was no hiding it anymore. He needed someone to talk to, someone to help him understand his feelings. It was getting harder to disguise the look of amazement on his face whenever The Prophet printed a picture of his lover.  
  
It had been what, thirteen years since he last saw him. He knew in his heart his lover was innocent; he'd almost fallen out with his remaining friends because of it. Something just didn't feel right. He'd spent countless hours going over conversations they'd had. Trying to remember something which would make everything fall into place. Something that, when told to the right people, would clear his lover's name. Above all else, he longed to hold him in his arms and help him to get his life back.  
  
With time Remus began to come to terms with what happened. The man he loved was in Azkaban. Remus had no choice but to rebuild his life, a life without Sirius.  
  
Albus Dumbledore, headmaster of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, had offered him a job as the new Defence Against the Dark Arts professor. He had readily accepted, as Hogwarts was a place he felt safe. Hogwarts held a lot of memories for him. Happy, innocent times with Sirius, James and Peter. Another reason to teach at Hogwarts was Holly, his niece. He had spent a great deal of time with Holly over the summer. She still remembered Sirius but knew enough not to mention him in front of Remus. She'd grown up so much over the last year. She had a boyfriend, Oliver Wood. Sirius would be tickled to know she was going out with the captain of the Gryffindor Quidditch team.  
  
When the news broke about Sirius' escape, Remus thought it only fair to tell her everything. She knew the basics, from what she'd heard other people say but no one had ever sat her down and told her the truth. Remus wanted her to know everything. She had just come back from a holiday with Oliver and his parents when he decided to tell her.  
  
It was harder than he thought, going over old memories. Opening up wounds that hadn't quite healed. She was much stronger than he thought. She was also fiercely loyal. Remus had been talking for over two hours when he finally finished. He looked up at her to see she wasn't disgusted but she gave him a look that told him she believed him and everything would be all right.  
  
She gave him her word that she wouldn't tell a soul, not even Oliver, what he'd told her. This could be his one chance to fix everything. He needed to see Sirius, or even just to receive an owl from him. He heard nothing for several weeks. Term had started and Remus threw himself into his new role as a professor. He spent at least an hour a day talking with Holly. She was having problems of her own. Oliver was too wrapped up in Quidditch to even listen to her. Remus was happy to sit and listen to her talk. He had promised her parents he would look out for her. If looking out for her meant listening to her complain about her love life, then that's what he'd do. Besides, it gave him a chance to talk about Sirius. He couldn't talk to anyone else about him; Holly was the only one he trusted.  
  
It was November. He had been at Hogwarts for two months before he heard anything from Sirius. Sirius had somehow gotten into the castle and attempted to gain entry into the Gryffindor common room. In the following confusion he managed to slip a note underneath Remus' door.  
  
"I'm ok, please don't try to contact me. It was never my intention to hurt you, my love. Yours, Padfoot."  
  
He didn't know what to think. He was determined to make sense of it all. There had to be some reasoning behind it. He enlisted the help of Holly. When Remus couldn't spend time working on it, she could. She made it her 'project' to get Sirius' name cleared. He was eternally grateful for her help. He knew it was putting a huge strain on her relationship with Oliver but as she said, he was too into Quidditch to notice anything unusual.  
  
Christmas came and went. He was grateful for the rest. Teaching and dealing with his Lycanthropy was turning out to be much harder than he thought. He spent Christmas with Holly and her parents, his brother Louis and his wife Talia. Those weeks were the happiest Remus had been since receiving Sirius' letter.  
  
Before too long it was time to return to Hogwarts. This term was going to be busier. Harry had come to him asking for his help with the Dementors. He was to meet with Harry and teach him the Patronus charm weekly. He still spent as much time as he could with Holly, going over old information, looking for clues to clear Sirius.  
  
Sirius had once again made his way into Hogwarts. Once again, he left a note for Remus.  
  
"It won't be long now, love."  
  
The note left Remus confused. Won't be long before what?  
  
Somehow Harry managed to get hold of The Marauder's Map. Which in turn, Remus managed to acquire. This was it. This was what he'd been waiting for. He waited till he was alone in his rooms before reading the map. Everything came back to him as he tapped it lightly and whispered, "I solemnly swear that I am up to no good." Almost instantly he knew. He met with Holly, told her what he was going to do and rushed out towards the Whomping Willow.  
  
Seeing Sirius again filled him with desire. Desire to reach out, to hold him and to never let go. Remus knew it would be all right. Sirius looked oh so thin, so fragile. Remus was afraid to touch him, for fear of hurting him. They exchanged a few words, but Remus couldn't hold it back. He reached out and embraced his lover. He was surprised when Sirius returned the embrace. Whispering in his ear ever so softly, his childhood nickname, "Moony."  
  
Together they exposed Peter Pettigrew as the real murderer. Together. It all would have gone to plan if Snape hadn't ruined everything. Now, instead of beginning a new life together, they were forced apart again. Remus couldn't hide the hate he felt towards Snape. He resigned as professor, and left Hogwarts.  
  
Holly on the other hand was doing well. She had resolved her problems with Oliver and the two of them were back together. Remus knew Sirius would have to lie low. He didn't expect to see him again for a long time. He didn't expect to hear a knock at his door. He didn't expect to open it and see his lover, his mate, on the other side.  
  
It took a few days for them to work through what happened. It took time for them to get to know each other again. But they did it. Sirius isn't free yet. He won't be, not until his name has been cleared. But they have each other. And time. Time together. 


End file.
